Patna High Court
Amin ChaudharyversusThe State of Bihar
- Decided
- Disposal
- DISPOSED
- Bench
- SATYAVRAT VERMA
Holding
The court granted provisional anticipatory bail subject to bond, sureties and verification of criminal antecedents.
Summary
Amin Chaudhary and his wife Pinki Devi sought anticipatory bail fearing arrest under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2022 for allegedly possessing five litres of liquor at their joint family house. They argued that no arrest had occurred, the liquor was not in their conscious possession, and the 2018 amendment to the Act had abolished the concepts of deemed possession and presumed offender. The State opposed the bail. The High Court, after considering the submissions, granted provisional anticipatory bail conditioned on a bail bond of Rs.5,000 with two sureties and directed the trial court to verify the petitioners' criminal antecedents, stating that if the antecedents exceed what was disclosed, the bail would not be confirmed. The order is subject to the inherent powers under Section 482(2) of the CrPC.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted in a case of alleged possession of liquor under Section 30(a) of the Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2022.
- Whether the 2018 amendment removing deemed possession and presumed offender concepts affects the liability of the petitioners.
- Whether the presence of undisclosed criminal antecedents should preclude confirmation of anticipatory bail.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 482(2)
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- possession
- excise law
- criminal antecedent
- Section 30
- Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act
- Section 482
- bail conditions
Judgment
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.25536 of 2026
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-55 Year-2026 Thana- SASARAM NAGAR District- Rohtas
======================================================
1. Amin Chaudhary Son of Hakim Chaudhary R/O Village- Sitabigha. P.S.-
Sasaram (Mufassil), Karwandiya, Distt.- Rohtas
2. Pinki Devi Wife of Amin Chaudhary R/O Village- Sitabigha. P.S.- Sasaram
(Mufassil), Karwandiya, Distt.- Rohtas
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Babu Nandan Prasad
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Parmanand Prasad
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SATYAVRAT VERMA
ORAL ORDER
2 21-04-2026 1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and
learned A.P.P. for the State.
2. The petitioners apprehend their arrest in a case
registered for the offence punishable under Section 30(a) of
Bihar Prohibition and Excise Act, 2022.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that
petitioner no.1 has antecedent of one case and petitioner no.2 is
a person with clean antecedent and is a woman and allegation is
of recovery of 5 litres of liquor from house of the petitioner. It
is next submitted that petitioners were not arrested from the spot
as such nothing was recovered from their conscious possession
and the house in question is a joint family property as such it
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.25536 of 2026(2) dt.21-04-2026
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cannot be alleged with certainty that it was petitioners, who had
kept the liquor in the house or the liquor kept in the house was
within their knowledge and after amendment in the Excise Act
in the year 2018, the concept of deemed possession and
presumed offender has been done away with and they came to
be implicated at the instance of chowkidar with whom petitioner
no.1 is on an inimical term. It is also submitted that if chowkidar
was aware of the involvement of the petitioner in the occurrence
then why he did not inform the police prior to institution of the
instant FIR which casts an aspersion on the case of the
prosecution.
4. Learned A.P.P. for the State opposes the prayer for
anticipatory bail of the petitioners.
5. Considering the submissions made by the learned
counsel for the petitioners, the petitioners above-named, in the
event of their arrest or surrender within a period of six weeks
from today, be released on provisional anticipatory bail on
furnishing bail bonds of Rs.5000/- (Rupees five thousand) each
with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of
the learned trial court where the case is pending/successor court
in connection with Sasaram (Muffasil) P.S. Case No.55/2026,
subject to the conditions as laid down under Section 482(2) of
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.25536 of 2026(2) dt.21-04-2026
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the B.N.S.S.
6. It is made clear that thereafter the learned trial court
thereafter shall verify the criminal antecedents of the petitioners
and in the event if it is found that petitioner no.1 has antecedent
of more than one case and petitioner no.2 has antecedent of even
one case, in that event, it would be presumed that petitioners
had concealed their antecedent before this court, as such, the
provisional anticipatory bail order shall not be confirmed with
respect to those petitioners whose criminal antecedent does not
tally but if after verification the criminal antecedent as recorded
hereinabove tallies with the petitioners in that event the
provisional anticipatory bail order shall be confirmed forthwith.
(Satyavrat Verma, J)
amit/-
U T
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